Man commits suicide on north side of the White House

A man committed suicide outside the White House on Saturday, sparking panic and sending the parts of the nation's capital into lockdown.

The Secret Service first reported that it was responding to reports of a self-inflicted shooting along the White House's north fence around noon.

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The sound of gunfire echoed across the grounds and members of the press corps reported being told to stay inside.

Video taken near the presidential residence shows crowds of people running away from the area as Metropolitan Police race toward the scene.

"Do you think that was shots?" a woman asks in the clip as she begins to sob. "I've never heard a gunshot."

President Trump was in Florida at the time. He spent the night at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach estate, and attended a Republican fund-raiser Friday night.

The White House was placed on lockdown Saturday after reports of shots being fired near the building, according to several witnesses. (Pgiam/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"White House currently locked down. Reports of two loud booms/shots on the North Side. Currently sheltering in place in basement area of Briefing Room," NBC News photographer Paul Rigney tweeted just after 12 p.m.

Streets surrounding the White House were closed off and tourists were kept at bay as police cordoned off a large swath of Pennsylvania Ave., across from Lafayette Square.

"Secret Service personnel are responding to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gun shot wound along the north fence line of @WhiteHouse," the agency tweeted.

Medical personnel also responded, the agency said.

The District of Columbia Police Department said later that an "adult male has been declared deceased. We are working to notify next of kin."

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White House on lockdown after man shoots himself near North Lawn

No other injuries were reported.

The White House said it was aware of the situation and that Trump had been briefed.

The incident comes a week after a pistol-packing Tennessee woman slammed her car into a security barrier near the western entrance of the White House

Jessica Ford, of La Vergne, Tenn., was arrested after she intentionally crashed her van into a barrier at the corner of E and 17th Sts. in Washington, D.C., the Secret Service said.

Ford, who tried to scale the White House fence last year, was carrying a pistol without a license, according to cops.